Policyband

In an Unusual Move, FCC Chairman Carr Drops the Package at Amazon’s Front Door

Carr reacted negatively to Amazon’s attack on SpaceX’s effort to build a massive data center satellite constellation in low Earth orbit

Ted Hearn

Mar 12, 2026 — 10 min read

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Space: This time, the package got dropped off at Amazon. Amazon caught the attention of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday … and not in a good way. The giant online retailer is fighting Elon Musk’s effort to gain FCC approval to deploy up to 1 million satellites that will act as solar-powered data centers to support AI and high-performance computing. In a March 6 filing with the FCC, Amazon described Musk’s plan as “a lofty ambition rather than a real plan – and a speculative placeholder rather than a complete application under the [FCC’s] rules.” Amazon added that Musk’s project “risks real harm,” pointing to concerns raised by “astronomers and environmental groups” and fears that Musk’s intent was the “monopolization of orbital resources.” That, apparently, was too much for Carr to take. “Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr said on his X feed Wednesday. (More after paywall)